


Between You and Me

by 70sBabe



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Banter, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I love this ship, Little things, They Totally Love Each Other, but neither one realizes it, total dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 07:14:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12053973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/70sBabe/pseuds/70sBabe
Summary: MJ and Peter share a lot





	1. pens

Michelle could never put her finger on when it started, but it was undeniable: Peter Parker was a pen thief. The boy never had a writing utensil, no matter how many he seemed to beg, steal, or borrow from his hapless classmates. 

“Hey, Michelle,” she heard him hiss from behind her. They were in Spanish class and  _ supposed _ to be working on a grammar packet…. _ silently _ .

“What?” she whispered harshly back. No verbal response; instead, one of his hands was suddenly in her periphery, making a grasping motion, like he was a baby or something. She sighed. “Words, buddy, use your words.”

“Can I borrow a pen?” Peter was using that wheedling tone that MJ knew always worked on teachers and old ladies. “Pleeeeeaaaseee?”

Without turning around, Michelle tossed her pen behind her.  _ He’ll probably catch it, too. Stupid crazy reflexes _ .

“Thanks, MJ!” Ugh. She could practically  _ hear _ the goofy smile that was surely plastered across his face right now. It was ridiculously easy to make that kid happy; he was like a Golden Retriever puppy.

“That’s the 12th pen you’ve stolen from me….this week.” she snapped. “Next time you ask for one, I’m gonna staple it to your shirt.”

She heard Ned snort and Peter make a noise of indignation, but then, thankfully, it was back to blissful silence. The only problem? Now MJ couldn’t stop thinking about the pens: namely, why she kept giving them to Peter. Anyone else who asked would’ve gotten a “I don’t think so,” or maybe a derisive scoff, but when Peter came around? It was like she was throwing beads off a Mardi Gras float. Like Oprah when she does that giveaway episode. “You get a pen! And  _ you _ get a pen! Anyone named Peter Parker gets a pen!” Strange, huh? Practically sickening, right?

She shook her head slightly, refocusing on the work in front of her. Who needs to analyze their own psyche when you can analyze the Spanish verb “to be?” But, in the back of her somewhat brilliant mind, a plan was forming.  _ If Peter wants pens….well, who am I to deny him? _

MJ decided to strike about a week later. Element of surprise, and what not (she had read Sun Tzu’s Art of War, she knew how to plan a strike on the enemy). Her locker was six down from Peter’s and she was standing right in front of it as soon as the bell rang. Peter was meandering down the hall from whatever class he had just had, talking animatedly with Ned.  _ They’re definitely still arguing about which Indiana Jones movie is the best one….dorks _ . She pretended not to notice them, going through the motions of shoving all her books into her backpack.

“Yeah, okay, but the Last Crusade has it all! Nazis, a treasure map, the Holy Grail; it has Sean Connery, Ned! You can’t argue with that!” Peter was spinning the combination on his locker lock and Michelle was on the edge of her seat.  _ Come on, Parker, come on! _

Peter was yanking on the handle, still talking to Ned “We should watch it thi- what the hell?!”

He was caught off guard by the literal waterfall of ballpoint pens that was now cascading out of his locker. They clattered on the floor, rolling every which way, causing quite the scene in the hallway.

“Dude, did you do this?” Peter whined at Ned, who was doubled over in laughter.

“No, I-I swear!” He wheezed. Michelle decided that this was her cue.

“Hey, Peter,” she sauntered up to him, stepping carefully over the pens.

“Michelle, hi, I don’t rea-” he was flustered, trying to ignore the pens that were still trickling from his locker.

“I was just wondering,” she paused for effect. “Can I borrow a pen?”

Peter was opening and closing his mouth furiously, at an utter loss for words. “I...I….you...pens?”

“Dude!” Ned looked at MJ, awestruck. “Nice!” He held up a hand for a high-five and MJ only hesitated for a few seconds before smacking it.

“MJ!” Peter seemed to have gotten some of his steam back.

“Yes, Peter?” Michelle smiled sweetly, batting her eyes. Peter was staring at her, almost like he was measuring her up. What he did next surprised her. Peter bent down, grabbed one of the pens off the floor, and held it out to her.

“Here you go,” he smiled and God, MJ could  _ feel _ her heart melting. She found herself taking the pen from his hand and muttering something about stupid pens and stupid boys. Michelle turned and walked down the hall, hoping that maybe she could outrun this feeling, outrun these butterflies in her stomach, when Peter called her name.

“MJ!”

“What?” she whipped around quickly, crossing her arms over her chest. Peter was grinning in that dopey, totally-Peter-Parker way.

“Still gonna take your pens,” he shrugged slightly, then giggled (yes,  _ giggled _ ). MJ felt that kick in her chest that meant her heart was beating double-time so, instead of whipping out a snarky comment, she just flipped a double-bird and continued down the hall.

She was confused and Michelle Jones, professional know-it-all, did not like being confused. Peter Parker was confusing, with his floppy hair and his too-big t-shirts and his hands that were constantly grabbing for her pens. He should just fade into the rest of Midtown, another boy, another annoyance in MJ’s life. But he stood out. She didn’t know why. But nothing stumped Michelle Jones for too long, and she was positive that, in due time, she would figure out Peter Parker. I mean, how hard could it be?

 


	2. america's next top model

Peter Parker had a huge secret. Well, two huge secrets. Sure, he was Spider-Man and, yeah, he had to keep that pretty hush-hush, but that wasn’t his only secret. Peter Parker was totally and completely obsessed….with America’s Next Top Model. It was all May’s fault, okay? She watched it every week, ever since Peter was a little kid and, somewhere along the way, he just….got really into it. Like,  _ really _ into it. He had sworn May to secrecy and he was pretty certain that no one would ever find out his deep, dark secret. 

It was Tuesday night, which meant America’s Next Top Model, which meant that (barring an emergency), Spider-Man had the night off and Peter had his butt parked on the sofa, ready to hear Tyra’s words of wisdom. The episode was halfway through and Peter was completely caught up in the episode when someone knocked on the door.

“May, door!” he called, not risking missing anything. I mean, the models were in the middle of a challenge!

“Honestly, I should have never gotten you started on this show,” May shook her head as she walked from the kitchen to the door. Peter just waved his hand at her, as if to say “yeah, yeah, whatever.” He was watching the TV intently; so intently that he didn’t hear the voices in the hall.

“Yeah, I needed to borrow some notes for Chem and Peter said to just swing by whenever. I texted him, but he didn’t reply.”

“Oh, well, he’s a little….busy? It’s fine, though, he’s just right here-

“What? No!” Peter groaned. “How did Ashleigh win that challenge? Her picture was so bad! She has, like, three poses! I hope Tyra roasts her at the end of this episode”

“Uh, Peter?”

He turned from the TV and felt his stomach drop. Standing next to May, staring at him with a mixture of shock and absolute hilarity, was none other than Michelle Jones.

“Oh my God,” he moaned.

“Honey, Michelle just stopped by for some notes or….something,” May was desperately trying to gloss over the situation.

“Oh...yeah, the notes.” Peter was still staring at Michelle, sure his eyes were about to fall out of his head. “Yeah, I’ll just….get those.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Michelle finally piped up. “Don’t you wanna see what Tyra has to say to….who was it? Ashleigh?” she had an innocent look on her face, but her eyes were sparkling with laughter.

“No, no, I was just uh….” Peter was scrambling for words. “You know, it was just on, and I thought….well, why not?”

“Oh, of course,” Michelle nodded. “Well, either way, I think we should at least finish it out, right? Might as well see who goes home.”

“Um….” Peter wasn’t sure what was going on. He quickly met May’s eyes. She smiled and gestured at him to sit down, giving a hurried thumbs-up. “Yeah! I mean, yeah, sure.”

Michelle flopped down on the couch, Peter sitting carefully next to her. This had to be a trap, right? Any minute, MJ would whip out her phone and start taking pictures for blackmail purposes. But, so far, she seemed to be concentrating on the show, twisting a lock of curly hair around her finger.

“Uh, MJ?” Peter’s voice cracked a little and he winced.

“Uh huh?”

“This is just gonna….well, you’re not….you’re not gonna tell anyone about this, right?” Peter held his breath.

“Peter,” Michelle turned to him, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry; your secret’s safe with me.” She paused. “But if you do something really annoying….well, you might wanna watch your back.” She winked and Peter felt his heart start beating faster. He couldn’t tell if it was the fear of knowing that MJ could drop this bomb at any time or…..well, how cute she looked when she winked. Like a little kid who just learned how, her cheeks all scrunched up and a proud look on her face. It was nice to see her smile; she spent too much of the day frowning at everyone and everything. Peter wanted to make her smile all the time.

A week went by and, true to her word, Michelle didn’t tell anyone. Peter had a feeling she never would, so he felt pretty secure in his decision to plop down across from her at the lunch table and say, “Hey, wanna come over tonight?”

“Why?” MJ didn’t even look up from her book, Stephen Hawking’s  _ A Brief History Of Time _ , which Peter had  _ actually _ read.

“Well,” Peter blustered. “Um, Top Model is on tonight and….I don’t know, I thought you might wanna see who gets kicked off this week.” He clasped his hands together on the table, hoping that this wouldn’t blow up in his face. MJ glanced up, slowly closing her book and settling back in her chair.

“You know what?” she said thoughtfully. “I might actually enjoy that. 7:30?”

“Yeah!” Peter beamed. “And I’ll get May to order a pizza or something! You know,” he leaned conspiratorially over the table. “I think Jenna is gonna get the axe tonight. Her pictures really haven’t been impressive lately.”

“I know, right?” Michelle gasped. “It’s like she’s hardly even trying!”

“Who’s hardly even trying?” Ned said, setting his tray down on the table and sitting down next to Peter.

“Uh,” Peter was drawing a complete blank. For someone with a secret identity, he was really terrible at lying on the fly.

“Juliette!” Michelle filled the silence. “In English Lit today! It was kinda embarrassing, really. She clearly hadn’t done the reading and Mrs. Russler was roasting her for it.” She picked her book up and busied herself with flipping through the pages. Ned gave Peter a questioning look.

“Yeah, totally!” Peter agreed, nodding his head vigorously. “So, uh…..embarrassing!”

“Huh,” Ned shrugged, then started digging into his food. “Anyways, have either of you started the Calculus project?”

They all fell into their easy banter, discussing school work and memes and whatever annoying thing Flash had done today. As they were all giggling over Michelle’s impression of Flash when he found out Peter had gotten a better score than him on the Chemistry test, Peter caught her eye. She winked at him again and, yep, his heart was beating like crazy again. She really  _ did _ have a great smile.


	3. yellow starbursts

“Oh my God, no one likes those!”

“Someone must! They wouldn’t make that flavor if no one ate them!”

Michelle was ready to scream. Usually, Peter and Ned kept their nerd discussions to a low decibel, but today they were both getting louder and louder and Michelle could hardly concentrate on her current book,  _ Crime and Punishment _ .

“Can you two keep it down? Jesus, what are you even fighting about?” she snapped, glaring over at them. They both froze, looking at her as though they thought she was about to start yelling. MJ noticed that there was a big bag of Starbursts between them, a yellow one in Peter’s hand.

“We got these Starbursts and-and Ned said no one likes the yellow ones.” Peter was starting to wave his hands around, gesturing in that nerdy way that Michelle definitely didn’t find adorable, nope, no  _ way _ . “But why would they make them if  _ no one _ likes them? Right?” He was waiting for MJ to back him up and, for once, she would.

“People like the yellow Starbursts,” she narrowed her eyes at Ned. “For some people, those are the best ones.” And she reached over and plucked the yellow candy out of Peter’s hand. “I, personally, think the yellow ones are the best.”

“Well, you’re wrong, so,” Ned shrugged, grabbing a pink one off the pile. They all started eating the candy, still fighting over which was the best (MJ liked yellow, Peter was for orange, and Ned thought pink was the best). The bell rang and they all headed off the PE and Michelle thought that was be the end of the great Starburst debate.

Turns out, Peter Parker loved Starbursts. Like, loved them so much, he somehow always seemed to have a pack of them. He always had two or three in his pockets and the wrappers were all over his desk at home. Michelle might not have noticed this (oh, who are we kidding? She totally would’ve! When it came to Peter Parker, Michelle noticed everything), if not for the fact that, whenever he cracked open a new pack, Peter would always hand over the yellow ones to MJ. Sometimes just a few, sometimes a whole, huge handful. Sometimes he would smile and say “Here ya go!” Sometimes he would wordlessly hold his hand out, not even looking up from the notes they were both studying. Sometimes she would find them in her locker, or the front pocket of her backpack. But they were always there; just like Peter.

_ He really is something, huh? _

 


	4. music

It was a Saturday night and Peter was enjoying a rare night off. May had made him promise to stay in tonight, i.e. no Spider-Man patrols, so here he was, laying in bed and watching BuzzFeed Unsolved videos on his computer. It was times like this when, despite his extracurricular activities, he really felt like a normal teenager. He was chuckling at some scene of Ryan screeching at a suspected “spirit,” when his phone buzzed. 

MJ: hey have u heard Glitter & Gold

 

Peter: no who’s it by?

 

MJ: Barns Courtney

MJ:  [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GySIToHCPac ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GySIToHCPac)

 

Peter clicked on the link and found himself bobbing his head along with the beat.  _ Oh, this is for sure going on the playlist _ . He knew it was slightly dorky, but Peter had a playlist for web-swinging. He had synced it up with the software in his suit so that it played over his comms unit. This song was epic and action-movie-ish and it would go perfectly on his “SWINGING AND SINGING” playlist. Cool name, huh? He grabbed his mask from where it was laying on the floor and slipped it on.

“Karen?”

“Yes, Peter?” came the familiar, soothing tone.

“Can you add ‘Glitter & Gold’ by Barns Courtney to my playlist?”

“Sure thing. Adding ‘Glitter & Gold’ to ‘SWINGING AND SINGING.’ Anything else?”

“No, that’s it. Thanks, Karen!” Peter slipped the mask off and grabbed his phone.

 

Peter: i really like that

Peter: just added it to one of my playlists lol

 

MJ: yeah I heard it and it sounded like something you might like

 

Peter could feel his face heating up.  _ MJ heard a song and thought of me? Isn’t that, like, a crush thing? Don’t you do that when you have a crush on someone? Oh, geez, am I overthinking this?  _ He didn’t text back; he could tell that the conversation was over….at least for now. 

A few days later, Peter was at Target with May (she was picking up some random errand stuff, he was hoping to get some discount Xbox games). He was browsing through the shelves when he found himself listening closely to the song playing through the store loudspeaker. He pulled out his phone and Shazamed it.  _ Feel It Still, by Portugal the Man. Huh. _ It had a good beat and Peter liked the groove of the song, the happy, bubbly feeling that it was giving him. Suddenly, he got an idea.

 

Peter:  [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBkHHoOIIn8 ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBkHHoOIIn8)

Peter: listen to this

Peter: guarantee it will make ur day better

 

He shoved his phone back in his pocket and went back to the video games. A few minutes later, he felt his phone buzz. 

 

MJ: well

MJ: as much it pains me to say it

MJ: you’re right

MJ: that did make my day better

 

Peter: oh my god u totally just danced around ur room like u were in a music video didnt u???

 

MJ: shut up

 

Peter chuckled to himself. Michelle was definitely lying and it was hilarious to picture her jumping on her bed and dancing like she was in a Disney Channel movie. 

As the weeks went by, they kept sending each other YouTube and Spotify links (Michelle finally let Peter follow her on Spotify!) and pretty soon, Peter felt like he knew her music taste as well as he knew his own. She was partial to female artists and 90s hiphop/R&B, but she also really loved Stevie Nicks and Bruno Mars and (weirdly) Bridgit Mendler, that Disney actress from Good Luck Charlie. Peter thought he was pretty set in his alt-rock ways, but MJ had him listening to Little Mix and Kendrick Lamar and (ok, stop laughing) Bridgit Mendler. Even when he didn’t particularly love a song, he still liked it because MJ had heard the song and thought of  _ him _ and wasn’t that just the most special feeling in the world? Because music means so much, so when someone associates a song with you, then they really must think about you a lot, right? They must care about your opinion. At least, that’s how Peter felt. Michelle’s opinion meant so much to him and he wanted her to know that, to know that every time he sent her a song, he was kinda sending her a piece of his soul.

Of course, even with all these dramatic and sappy thoughts about her, it took Peter a painfully long time to realize that he was kinda head-over-heels for MJ.

He was laying on his floor, reading their English Lit book ( _ The Three Musketeers _ ) and listening to one of those Spotify-made playlists called “Chill.” He wasn’t really listening until he realized that he was  _ absolutely _ listening and thinking of Michelle. Before he knew it, he was sending her the song.

 

Peter:  [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7fzkqLozwA ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7fzkqLozwA)

Peter: reminded me of you

 

And then it hit him: this was undoubtedly a love song. A love song about two people being in love in New York City, for God’s sake! Why on earth would that remind him of Michelle? He started running through his thoughts and memories and wow, Michelle was in a lot more of them than he had originally thought. How she came over at least twice a week to watch TV and do homework with him and Ned. How she had stopped calling him “loser” and started saying “Peter.” Her laugh when he had filled Flash’s locker with Jell-O. Her face when she found out he had taped a “Hug Me!” sign to her back. Her smile. Her crazy, curly hair. That look she gave him when she thought he wasn’t looking. The pieces all came together and Peter was struck by a stomach-dropping thought. 

“Oh my God,” his eyes widened. “I like Michelle.”

“Well, I could have told you that!” May called from the kitchen through his open bedroom door.

“May!”

“Peter, you text her more than Ned.” Peter could practically  _ hear _ her rolling her eyes.  _ Oh my God I like Michelle and I just sent her a love song and oh my God she’s gonna know, too! And she’s gonna think I’m a weirdo! Oh my God, this is so not good _ . Peter’s heart was beating faster than it did when he was fighting crime.  _ Please let her not say anything, please let her not say anything _ . His phone dinged.

 

MJ: peter

MJ: cool song

MJ: but

MJ: r u trying to tell me something

 

Peter: um

Peter: well it wasn’t really my intention but i mean

Peter: maybe?

Peter: like if that’s cool with you?

 

She didn’t reply right away and Peter thought that maybe he was having a heart attack. “May, it’s your left arm that hurts when you’re going into cardiac arrest, right?”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re kind of weird?”  _ SO not helpful _ . Peter started pacing around his room. How could he have not seen this before? He and Michelle had started hanging out a lot more, and May was right, they texted all the time. He read some of the weird books she lent him and went all the way to Brooklyn to go see feminist art exhibits with her and he gave her all his yellow Starbursts. If that’s not a crush, what is?  _ Oh my God, I bet she’s known this whole time and just hasn’t said anything! This is so embarra- _

His phone dinged.

 

MJ:  [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV5lzRHrGeg ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV5lzRHrGeg)

 

Peter clicked on the link, half-sure it would be a video of someone saying “hell, no!” over and over again, but was instead met with the image of Tom Hanks. The song was sugary pop music and Peter was a little surprised; it wasn’t MJ’s typical genre. And then the chorus hit.

“ _ I really really really really really really like you _

_ And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too? _ ”

Peter’s jaw dropped.  _ Is she-?  _ He started dancing around his room and, by the time the next chorus came around, he was singing along, jumping and pumping his fists in the air. And then it was over. He grabbed his phone, quickly punching in the number he wanted. It only rang twice and then she picked up.

“What’s up, Parker?” she sounded so calm and cool, so utterly unaffected by everything that had just had Peter bouncing off the walls.

“Hey! MJ!” he was breathless. “Um, I was just listening to that song you sent me and-and it was really good!”

“Really, really, really, really, really, really good?” He could hear her smirk through the phone and he burst out laughing.

“Yeah, really, really good. And I was thinking….well, I may be misinterpreting you and if I am, then feel free to stop me whenever, but I was wondering….”

“Get to the point, Peter.”

“You wanna get dinner this Friday? A Mexican place opened up a few blocks from Midtown and Ned told me it’s pretty good.”

“Yeah,” Peter pumped a fist in the air. “I’d like that, Peter. I’d really, really, really, really, really, really like that.” and then she started giggling and Peter thought that there was nothing better than this, there really wasn’t.


	5. secrets

Isn’t it strange how quickly your life can change? MJ had always thought, yeah, it was a little lonely, but her life was just fine the way it was, thank you very much. She had her books and her room and the AcaDec team and she sat near Peter and Ned at lunch and in class and it was all enough. But these past few months had shown her that life could be so much more than  _ enough _ . She and Peter had been dating for almost 6 months now and it was like the whole world had gotten brighter. Strong words coming from a self-avowed pessimist, huh? But Peter Parker could do that to a girl. He was all sunshine and rainbows and smiles and candy, whereas she was mostly rain clouds and lightning bolts and frowns and black coffee. 

The only thing that was casting a shadow on the bright, shiny place that was now her life was Peter’s secret. Not the America’s Next Top Model thing (though, seriously; how funny was that?). The Spider-Man thing. It hadn’t taken her long to put two and two together. She had her suspicions after Spider-Man had stopped a robbery at the convenience store she was at.

_ “That’ll teach you to have sticky fingers….get it? ‘Cause now you’ve got sticky hands? Because of my webs?” Spider-Man had successfully taken down the robbers, but now it appeared he was literally trying to torture them with his terrible jokes. Sure, Michelle was glad he had stopped the burglary, but did he have to stick around and try out his stand-up material? _

_ “Oh my God,” she groaned. “Aren’t there other people to save? Can you please just stop with the amateur comedy hour?” _

_ “Yeah, I agree with the chick,” one of the webbed-up thugs piped up. _

_ “Oh, come on!” Spider-Man whined. “I’m hilarious!” _

_ Michelle snorted. He sounds like Parker….funny, right? “Stick to crime-fighting, buddy.” _

_ “Oh, shut up, Mich-” he had turned to face her, but suddenly stopped speaking. “Uh….miss. Shut up, miss.” _

_ MJ narrowed her eyes. He knew her name. He didn’t want her to know that he knew her name. Suspicious, but she didn’t press it. She watched him swing back into the city and decided to research this a little bit. _

Sure, that event had made her suspicious, but the real clincher had been when Spider-Man, New York’s own superhero, had shown up in Washington, DC, to save the Decathlon team, minus a few members. MJ had been on the ground, but guess who just simply couldn’t be accounted for? That’s right, Peter Parker. She knew he was Spider-Man, and the knowledge settled on her with surprising ease. It almost seemed….right. Peter, while being a dork and a nerd and a total goofball, was also loyal and brave and….well, it seems almost silly to say, but….noble. He was always doing something for someone else; and that was just when he was Peter Parker, high school student. As Spider-Man, he was saving the city! So, yeah: MJ knew he was Spider-Man. But she wanted Peter to tell her and he seemed deadset against it. She had even heard Ned trying to convince him, but Peter was adamant. So, Michelle decided she would just have to set things in motion herself.

“Hey, do you guys know where to buy pepper spray?” MJ was going for a nonchalant tone as she joined Peter and Ned in the hallway before homeroom.

“No, why?” Ned just rolled with it, like she knew he would. Not much surprised Ned; you could tell him almost anything and he would respond with a “Oh….okay!” Peter, on the other hand….well, pushing his buttons was as easy as playing video games. Press X, and Peter will trip over his shoelace. Press Y, and he’ll start talking about something nerdy. Simple.

“It’s just….” MJ trailed off, trying her hardest to look dramatic. She really needed to sell this. “Well, lately, this group of guys has been following me from the train station and-I don’t know, I just feel like something might happen.” She shook her head. “Never mind, I’m being ridiculous.” She glanced quickly at Peter. His fists were clenched, knuckles white.  _ Oh, I am SO good _ .

“MJ, you’re not being ridiculous, this is serious stuff,” Peter said quietly. “I’m gonna walk you home, okay?” Uh oh. This kind of threw a wrench in her plans.

“No, no!” Michelle started to protest. Let’s just, uh….give it another day or two! If they follow me today, then you can start walking me home.” she smiled, then leaned in to kiss him lightly.

“Oh my God, my eyes!” Ned groaned. “Please warn me before you two start slobbering all over each other.”

“Ned, shut up or you’ll be the one getting pepper-sprayed.” Michelle rolled her eyes. Peter grinned back, slipping his hand into hers. The bell rang, and the gang started another typical day at Midtown. Classes, lunch, more classes, and suddenly, the day was over.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” MJ called over her shoulder as she headed towards the big double doors that led out onto the street.

“Sure you don’t want me to walk you home?” Peter looked worried and, if he wasn’t Spider-Man, MJ knew he would have absolutely insisted on escorting her to her front door.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” she smiled, then continued on her way.  _ Alright, starting phase two _ . She caught her train, hustling to grab a spot near a window. She kept her eyes peeled for that tell-tale flash of red and blue but, so far, no dice.  _ Where is he? _

The train ground to a stop, the doors opened, and Michelle started the trek to her apartment building.  _ Come on, Spider-Man, come on, Spider-Man _ . 

And there he was.  _ Going for subtlety, I guess _ . Instead of his usual, show-off-y swings straight through traffic, he was going from roof to roof, following MJ from 12 stories up.  _ Oh, I’ve got him in the palm of my hand _ . She continued towards an alley that she knew had some particularly crumbly bricks. The slightest pressure and who knows? They might just….fall out of place.

MJ turned sharply into the deserted alley, positive that, any second now, Spider-Man would swing in. He did not disappoint. She heard him before she saw him, that weird “thwip” sound echoing in the alley. She watched the web connect with brick and, almost in slow motion, she watched him leap, swing, and then flail helplessly as the brick he was counting on fell out of the wall.

“Wha-aaaahhhh!” he screeched, not sounding very heroic. And then there he was, in a crumpled heap at Michelle’s feet. _ I am SUCH an evil genius. Like, seriously. This is some high-quality badass-ery _ .

“Oh, hey there,” she bit her lip, trying to stop herself from snickering. “Did you decide to, uh….drop in?”

“Ugghhh,” came a muffled groan. He started to get to his feet, then (as if realizing who he was in front of) he quickly snapped to attention. “Hello, citizen.” he had taken on an official tone. “Sorry about that. I, uh, thought the wall would be a little more sturdy.”

“Yeah, well, the American infrastructure is crumbling around us, what can you do?” Michelle shrugged. “Anyways, are we really gonna keep doing this?”

“Doing….what?” MJ couldn’t see his face behind the mask, but she was 100% positive that he was making that goofy, “who, me?” face that he usually put on when anyone mentioned Spider-Man.

“Come on, Peter,” she heard him choke a little when she said his name. “I’m not a  _ complete _ idiot….actually I’m not even a little bit of an idiot.  _ You _ are, though, for thinking you could keep this a secret from me.” she crossed her arms over her chest. “I mean, we’re dating. You’re my  _ boyfriend _ . Hell, even if we  weren’t dating, you’re still, like, my best friend. Why couldn’t you tell me this?”

Peter was still wearing that stupid mask and he wasn’t saying anything and it was making MJ so  _ mad _ and all of a sudden, she reached out and snatched it off.

There was Peter’s stupid face, just like she knew all along.  _ Loser _ . Michelle was surprised to find herself thinking that. It had been so long since she had called him by that name.

“MJ,” Peter was looking straight into her eyes, running a hand through his hair to straighten it out. “I wanted to tell you, I really did-

“Then why didn’t you?” she interrupted. She knew that whatever he was about to say would make her melt and forgive him and she wanted to be mad at him, she wanted to yell. “Ned knows! May knows! Tony Stark knows! Why can’t I?” her voice broke and  _ oh my God am I about to start crying?  _ “Don’t you trust me, Peter?” she said quietly, fiddling with the mask that was still in her hands.

“Of-of  _ course _ , I trust you, Michelle!” Peter reached out and grabbed her hands, holding them together in his. “I would trust you with anything! But….this?” he gestured vaguely. “This is dangerous. People get hurt. And I thought, if you didn’t know, then maybe the bad guys wouldn’t get to you.” he was rambling now, but Michelle didn’t mind. “You know, if bad guys ever figure out who I am, they’ll go after the people that I love and I just wouldn’t be able to stand that, I really wouldn’t.” He stopped to take a deep breath, still keeping eye-contact with her. “I know that I should’ve told you. But….I thought maybe I could keep you safe if you didn’t know. I was being stupid.”

“Peter,” Michelle paused. “You  _ were _ being stupid.” Peter’s look of remorse quickly turned to one of good-natured offense. “But also, like,  _ super _ sweet.” she finished.

“Sweet, huh?” Peter was smiling now, pulling her closer to him, a rakish grin on his face.

“Sweet, but incredible dumb,” MJ concluded. That sure knocked the smirk off his face. “But I understand where you’re coming from. You and your stupid savior complex,” she chuckled, twining her arms around his neck. She loved his eyes; they were brown, like hers, but lighter. They showed every emotion and she loved to look into them and figure out exactly what he was feeling. Right now, they were warm and loving and happy: just the way Michelle liked them.

“I’m glad you know,” Peter said quietly, hands around her waist, pulling her closer until there was no space between them. “It was nerve-wracking, trying to keep it a secret from you.” He leaned in, kissing her slow and deep. She tightened her hold on him, wanting him to know that she wanted them to be as close as they could, no space, no secrets. When they finally broke apart, she backed up a little, biting her lip.

“So, did you mean what you said earlier?”

“Did I mean what?” Peter’s hair was all messed up in the back where MJ had run her hands through it and he had those dopey, love-sick eyes.

“When you were talking about the bad guys,” Michelle chose her words carefully. “You said you didn’t want me to know your secret because the bad guys would go after people you loved.” she looked down at the ground, suddenly shy. “Did you mean it? Am I….someone you love?”

“MJ,” he said softly, and something about his tone made her look up, meeting his eyes. “I meant it. I did, and I do. I know it’s crazy and I know we haven’t been dating that long, but I’ve known you forever and,” he was starting to babble. “And I do! I love you, Michelle Jones!” He was smiling like crazy, like a kid on Christmas, and it was enough to melt even MJ’s stone heart.

“Well, that’s good,” she smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek in her hand. “Because I love you, too.”

“Whoa, really?” his jaw dropped, eyes wide open. “That’s awesome!” He quickly snapped his mouth shut, realizing that his reaction was a little Andy Dwyer-esque. “Uh, I mean-um, good! That’s good, that we both….love each other.” he trailed off, the goofy grin returning to his face.

“You’re such a dork,” Michelle snorted, putting her arms back around his neck, leaning closer.

“Yeah, but you love it,” he smirked. She rolled her eyes, then kissed him. As his grip tightened on her waist, she thought about how easy it was to say those three words. All the movies and books made it seem like it was some huge deal, but you know what? When you know, you know. And Michelle was certain that she loved this huge dork. She loved Peter Parker. She loved Spider-Man. She was suddenly struck with a horrifying thought.  _ Oh my God, he’s gonna get me one of those stupid “I <3 Spider-Man” tshirts _ .

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
